What do us dhamma people think the word 'dhamma' refers to here? Thank you

"Dhamma" seems to have many meanings in the suttas, but here I think it means skillful and unskillfull mental qualities, so I chose (b). Actually (b) looks like a subset of (a), so maybe I should have chosen (e)?

"I ride tandem with the random, Things don't run the way I planned them, In the humdrum."Peter Gabriel lyric

I think I agree with Spk in this case, given the satipatthana context.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

Bhikkhus, I say that the destruction of the taints is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and see. Who knows and sees what? Wise attention and unwise attention. When one attends unwisely, unarisen taints arise and arisen taints increase. When one attends wisely, unarisen taints do not arise and arisen taints are abandoned.

“Bhikkhus, there are taints that should be abandoned by seeing. There are taints that should be abandoned by restraining. There are taints that should be abandoned by using. There are taints that should be abandoned by enduring. There are taints that should be abandoned by avoiding. There are taints that should be abandoned by removing. There are taints that should be abandoned by developing.

I think asavas, in this sense, are a function of the results of attention; so, dhamma is here either asavas or their counters, which covers a slightly more encompassing realm of practice than the "hindrances-awakening factors" obversion.

So that's (b) I think, but I'd want to pinpoint the asavas as the specific reference.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

daverupa wrote:I think I agree with Spk in this case, given the satipatthana context.

If the satipatthana context includes continuously contemplating the five hindrances (as dhammas), can the mind subdue (abandon) greed & distress with reference to the world or realise the deathless if the five hindrances remain present?

If the deathless is realised by remaining focused on the five hindrances, why would the five hindrances be called 'hindrances' & why would the Buddha characterise them (in SN 46.55) as causing blindness?

He remains focused on dhammas in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. For him, remaining focused on dhammas in & of themselves, dhammas are comprehended. From the comprehension of dhammas, the deathless is realized.

EndlessStream wrote:If the deathless is realised by remaining focused on the five hindrances...

Exactly what anapanasati & jhana are about, but not what satipatthana is always necessarily about. There are other 'satipatthanas' that address, say, those asavas to be endured.

It's all satipatthana, but while anapanasati refines it into jhana for the purposes of realizing the deathless, satipatthana is otherwise a mode of living that isn't always engaged in that specific way. So, I'm taking the passage, here, to be a broader statement, encompassing a bit more.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]